Penck, Albrecht, 1858-

Albrecht Penck was born on 25 September 1858 in Reudnitz, near Leipzig. In 1885, he was appointed professor of geography at the University of Vienna, a post he held until 1906 when he was appointed professor of geography at the University of Berlin and director of the Institutes of Oceanology and Geography in Berlin. Penck specialized in geomorphology and climatology and was noted for his study of glaciation, his pioneering classification of landforms, and his work in the development of modern regional geography. As president of the Gesellschaft fur Erdkunde in Berlin, Penck was approached by Filchner to approve his plan for the German South Polar Expedition, 1911-1912 (leader Wilhelm Filchner). Penck died in Prague on 7 March 1945.

Published work, Die Alpen im Eiszeitalter (German) by Albrecht Penck, Chr. Herm. Tauchnitz Leipzig (1909) SPRI Library Shelf (234.3) 551.336

From the guide to the Albrecht Penck collection, 1910-1913, (Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge)